by Mary Griggs
Martha quickly complied and fell back onto the bed. She felt like a mouse before a particularly hungry cat as Susan settled herself on top of her. Leaning forward, she shivered as Susan deliberately exhaled over her bare left breast.
"My, what have we here?"
"I've wanted you all day," she admitted.
Smiling faintly, Susan moved the hand that was resting on Martha's stomach to the other woman's warm hand. Grasping it gently, she guided it up over her head and closed the fingers over the spindles in the headboard. She kissed Martha and moved so that she could reach Martha's other arm. Lifting it, she lightly stroked the muscles that quivered under her touch.
"Susan?" the other woman gasped, only to fall silent as graceful fingers shifted to brush her lips.
"Trust me, baby," Susan whispered.
Martha's arm shifted ever so slightly and a strong hand closed over her wrists. Not to restrain her in any way but as a gentle reminder to keep her right where she was. Susan squeezed and released before trailing her hand down the taut frame.
"But…" Martha began.
"Shh. No talking," Susan breathed, her voice a gentle rebuff. Then, there was no more talking as she started kissing Martha with all of the passion in her heart. Hot lips converged. With uncommon skill, she incited and teased relentlessly.
Her heart pounded in her chest and it took all of Martha's willpower not to yank her arms down and take back control. She wanted to show her lover what her kisses were doing to her. Even after all their time together and the week of fishing, Martha couldn't get enough of her sexy partner. But she stopped herself, knowing that letting go now would be rewarded beyond her wildest imagination.
Continuing the butterfly kisses, Susan trailed her hands over Martha's upper body. First stroking lightly and then scraping with her nails, she alternated her touches with no particular rhythm. She continued the delicious torment until Martha was writhing helplessly. Susan trailed her lips down her lover's throat, randomly placing kisses and bites along the sensitive flesh.
"Please," Martha moaned low in her throat when she couldn't take it any longer. Her body was on fire, almost aching from the pleasure of being teased.
"I said no talking," Susan warned softly. She lifted her fingers to brush her lover's mouth. "If you wake the others, I'll be forced to stop." She kissed Martha again and inhaled her lover's soft whimper into her mouth.
"You don't want that, do you?"
Martha nearly answered before enough brain cells worked out that shaking her head would be a better answer.
"Very good, sweetheart." Flattening her palm over Martha's sternum, Susan marveled at the strong, steady beat of her heart. Wanting more contact, she pulled Martha's panties off, exposing Martha to her appreciative gaze.
"You're so beautiful," she stated in awe. She continued her fingers rambling journey and traced her way to the curve of a firm breast. "Here is so soft," she breathed as her mouth slid lower to press kisses onto flesh that goose pimpled in their wake.
Martha released her grip on the headboard and brought her hands down to her sides. She knew better than to seize what she really wanted. As her lover explored and teased, Martha thrashed in pleasurable agony and gripped her hands on the sheets. When Susan's lips wrapped around a taut nipple, she gasped in surprise and need.
"And here you're hard," Susan drawled, continuing her thought while her lover lost all rational ability. She swirled her tongue around the erect tip as her fingers followed her tongue's movement on Martha's stomach. "You want more, don't you, love?"
"God, yes." Martha's body was clamoring for the anticipated orgasm.
"Good," Susan said, with a smirk. "I'd hate to think that you were bored."
"Never bored," gasped Martha. "You enthrall me."
"I'll have to reward that answer," promised Susan. She slid her hand down and brushed Martha's inner thigh. She was pleased to hear the gasp Martha couldn't contain. The soft hair of Martha's inner thighs contrasted to the wiry hairs hiding her throbbing clit. She grinned to herself at the tangle of dark curls under her hands.
Muscles quivered under her light touch and she guided Martha's legs farther apart. Raising herself, she settled her hips between her lover's and applied gentle pressure. Martha bucked beneath her, trying to grind against her thigh.
Susan stroked a thumb against her lover's mouth. "Shh, my love... I'll take care of you." Lips worked against her thumb and teeth scraped, drawing it inside. "Trust me," she promised, pulling the digit free with an audible pop.
Swirling her tongue against Martha's nipples, she smiled as Martha's entire body seem to ripple with tension. "Do you know what I'm going to do?" she murmured.
"I'm hoping," Martha confessed. Susan could be unpredictable when she turned aggressive.
Admitting her uncertainty earned a soft kiss a few inches lower on her body. The sensation of warm tongue on soft skin made Susan moan. Her tongue darted out to brush along the heaving ribs. Her eyes lifted to pierce into Martha's. "Well, I think you're going to enjoy what I have planned," she promised.
Martha whimpered her fingers digging into the sheets. At the sharp contact of teeth against her belly, she bucked again, in desperate need for more contact. The tenderness of Susan's tongue soothed the area almost as soon as she had registered the pain. "Please," she begged as her heart tried to pound out of her chest.
"Soon," Susan promised. She knew that the climax hovering just out of reach would be all the more intense for having been delayed. Sharp teeth bit again; just hard enough to leave a mark, then Susan washed her tongue over the faint injury. Riding the slow rise and fall of Martha's hips, she dipped her tongue into the faint depression of her lover's bellybutton.
Martha looked down as Susan looked up, staring into eyes that seemed to almost black with hunger. Her fingers ached to stroke and caress her beautiful partner.
"Don't let go yet," Susan requested. "I promise you it'll be worth it."
Martha was trembling as muscles flexed along the length of her body. Fighting the urge to take hold of Susan, she tangled her hands into the sheets. "Oh, my god," she gasped.
Susan slid lower and let her lips play along her lover's hipbones. She nudged her lover's knees farther apart, then tasted Martha's inner thigh. She nipped at the tender skin hard enough to leave a mark. Sometimes she felt compelled to make these small signs of possession. Leaving the reasons to be pondered another time, she continued mapping the geography of her lover's body with her mouth.
Martha's jerked her hips in an attempt to meet the lips that were now zeroing in on her aching need. "Please," she whispered, the words a supplication.
Strong hands stroked Martha's inner thighs, purposely drawing things out. Susan reveled in the power of forcing her lover to wait for her touch on her throbbing flesh. Martha was so ready that when that gentle contact finally came she was close to exploding. She was so sensitive that the warm breath against her intimate flesh made her arch and cry out loud.
"I love you," Susan breathed, knowing what the passage of air was doing to the sensitive flesh before her. Gentle fingers caressed lightly before she flicked once with her fingernail. Martha bucked and lifted her head. Their gazes met for a searing instant before Susan relented.
Martha held her breath, afraid that her lover was going to make her wait even longer. With the first, direct touch of Susan's tongue, she arched off the bed. Panting unsteadily, she cried out, "Don't stop. Please don't stop."
Fluttering her tongue, Susan concentrated all her attention on the small bundle of nerves in Martha's clit. With a rough scream, her lover's entire body froze as she climaxed. Shuddering, Martha cried out, "I love you."
Susan quickly climbed up the bed to enfold her lover in her arms. "God, how I love you," she murmured into the dark hair as she gentled her through the aftershocks.
Martha's face wet with tears, she returned Susan's embrace. She kissed her essence off Susan's lips and face. "Thank you, darling."
"You're so
very welcome." She licked salt off her lips. "Why are you crying?"
"What can I say? I seem to leak when you're around." Martha joked.
"Are you all right?"
"I can't remember a time when I was better." Martha kissed her partner. "I'd like to return the favor."
Susan nearly purred when her lover's long fingers trailed down her body to play with the dark, damp curls. "It was my pleasure, honey." The hand stilled and she laughed. "But I'm not going to stop you."
"So wet," Martha exclaimed, as she pressed onward. She shifted slightly and inserted her knee between Susan's legs. Lifting slightly, she was able to sink her two middle fingers into the tight channel.
Gasping at the intrusion, Susan clamped down and jerked her hips. "Oh, God. That feels good."
When Martha tried to turn them both, Susan held her tightly. "No, sweetheart. Keep holding me tight. I need you to hold me right here."
Obeying her lover's words and needs, she began to thrust the hand between Susan's legs. She bent her thumb to make contact with her clit. Marveling at the contrast of hard and soft, Martha pressed another finger into her opening. Susan was so wet, she slid her index finger in effortlessly.
Martha reveled in the velvety smoothness surrounding her hand and spared a moment to kiss the uplifted chin. In response, Susan arched further. On the exposed neck, she lavished kisses and wiped with her tongue against the fast beating pulse.
"So close." Susan panted. "Don't stop."
"Never, my love," she promised. "I'll never stop loving you." Martha watched her lover race toward completion, marveling at the beauty when she cried softly and came.
"I can't believe how ready I was," Susan said with a self-conscious laugh.
Martha eased her hand out from its warm cocoon and brought it to her face. She breathed in the musky scent before sticking out her tongue and licking each finger clean. "The work you did on me would have made a corpse randy."
"Did you mind?"
"Can you ask that? I adore what you do to me and I love that it makes you so hot touching me." She brushed sweat-dampened hair off her still trembling lover's cheek. "Go to sleep."
The gentle command worked it's magic and they both slipped into a dreamless slumber.
Chapter Thirteen - Open My Eyes That I May See
Open my eyes, that I may see
Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me;
Place in my hands the wonderful key
That shall unclasp and set me free.
Words & Music: Clara H. Scott, 1895
After lunch two days later, Jay called out to Eva as she walked by with some dirty dishes. "You wanted to know more about the bees?" she asked.
"Oh, yes, please." Eva almost tossed the dishes at Cody before hurrying back to the dining room. "I'm ready."
Grinning at the eager girl, Jay told her to go and change her clothes to pants and a long sleeve shirt. When Eva returned, she held out several rubber bands. "Here. You'll need these."
"Um, what do I do with them?"
"Use them to keep your sleeves and pant legs together."
"Why's that?"
"We're going to check on the hives. And these," she said, plucking on the rubber bands sealing her own sleeves, "Will keep the little buggers from crawling into places that bees just don't belong."
After Eva complied, the two of them walked over to the other side of the geodome. There was a small windowless metal shed under the trees. Sliding open the stiff door, Jay handed out a hat with netting around it.
"Here. Put this on."
"I thought you had to wear a whole costume when you did something to bother the bees."
"When you bother them, you do." Jay put on her own hat and fluffed the netting around her face. "The kind of beekeeping I do is pretty low key. It causes a lot less stress on them and results in more honey for us."
Picking up a small crowbar, Jay led the way out to the ten boxes spread out under the trees. Jay waved her hand to encompass the area. "This is called an apiary."
"How many bees do you have? That's a lot of houses."
"Don't worry. Not all of the boxes are in use. I've got one largish colony of bees."
"Why do you have so many then?"
"Because I do everything to excess." Jay shook her head at the look on the teenagers face. "Sorry. I didn't know when I'd be able to get resupplied, so I just bought everything in bulk."
"How do the bees know which house to go into?"
She pointed at the blocks sealing the bases of several. "The ones in use are open down here. They come and go through the bottoms and that's where the queen hangs out."
"How come you've got two different kinds of beehives?"
"Because I want different things from each of them." Jay tapped the v-shaped box. "This is called a top bar hive. I get less honey but a lot more wax." She walked over to one of the yellow, plastic boxes. "This is called a super. It is what is known as a standard ten-frame hive. From it, I get a lot of honey and just a little wax."
Using the pry bar, she opened each of the hives and showed Eva the few bees inside.
"I expected to see more."
"That's why we're out here in the heat of the day. Most of the workers are out gathering more nectar." She lifted part of the box up and showed her the bottom section that was an actual hive of activity. "This is the brooding chamber. The queen and all her minions live down here. It stays busy all the time but, because it's separate from the top section, I don't get bee larva in the honey."
A number of bees flew out and around them until she settled the two parts of hive back together. They stood quietly until the bees shifted their attention back to caring for the queen.
"What are we doing now?"
"We are looking for capping." Jay lifted another lid and put it to the side. She pulled up one of the frames. "See how the honeycomb is open? You know it is ready to harvest when around 90% is capped."
"Then what do you do?"
"I extract the honey."
"You mean you take their food." Eva put her fists on her hips.
"You shouldn't think of it as stealing, the bees sure don't. Besides, we're actually only taking their spit after giving them a great place to live and room for all their young. I should have been so lucky when I was scrapping rent up during graduate school."
Jay replaced the frame and lid and moved onto the next box where she repeated the operation. Taking the three frames she had collected, she led Eva back over to the shed.
Lighting a small can of sterno, she set a dull knife on top of it to heat. "What I'm doing now is cutting the cap. The bees seal the honey chamber once it has ripened. The honey will ferment if it's harvested before being capped. Once the knife is hot enough, I just slice off the caps."
"What then?"
Pointing at the machine that dominated the shed, Jay said, "I can put up to five panels in this extractor. Then, all I have to do is close the lid and turn the crank. The centrifugal force flings the honey out where it slides down the sides of the chamber to the holding tanks. Little or no damage is done to the delicate honeycomb and the super is ready to be replaced."
Jay put Eva to work turning the handle. "Do you really see this as stealing?" she asked after a while.
"Not really, I just don't know what else to call it."
"Harvesting honey is just good husbandry. We offer them some benefits and, in return, we get a sweet reward for our efforts."
Eva seemed a bit disappointed by the little honey that they were able to collect. "Is that all?"
"Don't worry, kid, this is nothing. I do the big harvest at the end of July. That gives the bees plenty of time to make enough storage for winter."
Bending down, Eva looked at the cloudy liquid. "Um, it looks a little gross."
Jay took a scrapper and a squeegee to get out the remaining honey from the extractor. She took the collection jar and carried it over to a smaller jar. "We've got to strain the honey into the tanks and let it sit for a couple of da
ys for the air and impurities to rise to the top or sink to the bottom. The honey is then ready for bottling." Saying that, she poured the honey through the fine mesh on the top of the jar. She took the empty jar out and set it by the door outside.
"What is that machine?"
"It is a squeeze press. For the other type of hive, we will cut off the comb. I only need to leave about an inch at the top for them to start building a new one. We'll place the comb in here and squeeze out all the honey. The wax is then ready for use."
"Like what?"